Dual Optimas!

So my factory battery finally crapped out the other day. Guess what I can now justify to myself? That's right :


I will get some better pics up, as well as some of the process tomorrow. I am not quite finished with securing them yet. I am gonna add two more studs like the ones in the middle to each end.

 

I like it!!! i should of done this, i didn't think two batteries would fit. Nice!!!

 

What are you running that req two batteries?? You have a huge amp or winch or something??

 

Thanks! Yep, they fit just right. Just took a little bit of finesse .

 

Hmmmm, now you got me thinking

 

I don't get it... can someone explain the benefit to me? Big audio? Are they both being charged by the alter. and used?

 

Main reason is for the camper, Which runs only on 12v. And in anticipation of more power sucking goodies in the near future.

 

like a glove!

 

well they look good.. I am sure you have already read both these but these are some other dual battery ideas..

http://www.sandiegoracers.com/newblog/pt/blog/default.aspx?id=9&t=FJ-Cruiser-Dual-battery-Install
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/1491-upgrade-battery-stuff.html

 

I have one of these and didn't quite think it sucked as much as it did... within minutes my battery was dead - Pretty stupid of me...

 

that thing is insane, what did u pump up?

 

^^ That is a sweet unit! OBA is a future mod for me, for sure. What all does that thing do? Just air?

 

Just curious here, but if it's for goodies like a camper, why'd you go with red tops instead of the deep cycle yellows?

 

Just air but nicely. I was sick and tired of the other ones where their performance drops like a rock after you take it out of the box.

 

Well I wanted a red for daily use, and for the time being I am running them in parallel, so I needed two of the same ones. I hope I don't regret not going with yellows, but I honestly don't think I will. If in the future I decide to isolate them, I may want a yellow as the aux. . . but not sure.

Nice!

 

I've never tried running dual batts myself. Is there a problem associated with mixing regular/deep cycle when they're paralell? I would've thought that as long as the voltage is the same you should be able to mix/match.

I've been running a red top in my other car for about 6 months now and am very happy with it, and will almost certainly go to some type of Optima when the stock batt in my taco gives up the ghost (currently the truck is 3 months old and has 2k miles on it so it'd be a waste to swap out at the moment). I've seen some mixed reviews on the red's ability to recover from too much discharge though. Hopefully you won't run into any problems with yours.

Might even be better to run a yellow on the engine with a red for aux, though since your accessories won't need anywhere near the cranking amps that the starter draws, and could most likely run fine on a battery that's too discharged to turn your engine over in the morning. The way I understand it, the main advantage of the deep cycle is the ability to push big amps at a lower charge level.

 

Actually Deep Cycle batteries are designed for 'deep cycle' use like a wheel chair, trolling motor, boat or motor home where ppl may use the dc w/o generator running, etc. They can withstand a 'deep cycle' and be recharged where a std battery would get beaten up with that type of cycling.

 

^^I was told never to run different types of batteries in parallel. Something about different charging patterns will constantly be trying to equal each other out, creating a drastically shorter lifespan. Even that the same type of battery hooked to an older one can create this situation. That is why I bought two, even though I wont really need two for a few months, I wanted to make sure they where both new when I hooked them together. And this way I don't have to mess with isolating them if I don't want to.

 

I guess the pics are a little hard tell, But there is at least 3" maybe even 4" before contact with the oil filter. The only thing that is 'too close for comfort' is by the corner of the radiator support, but that doesn't shift, and I already got shorter terminal bolts that will give about another 3/4" more clearance on top of the 3/4" it already has, just for a little extra peace of mind.

 

Much appreciated. You never know when someone will catch something you overlooked.